10 Wrestlers Who Used Licensed Songs For Their Theme Music
A wrestler's entrance theme is a massive part of their character's portrayal and appearance. WWE's composer for many of our favorite themes from the '90s and 2000s was Jim Johnston, but they have moved on that creative genius. Besides in-house musicians, production houses are hired to create entrance themes. ECW used licensed songs in the '90s like Metallica for The Sandman.
WWE and other promotions have pursued the usage of published songs for their own Superstars as well. Pro wrestling has had a mutually-beneficial relationship with members of the music industry. As a result, licensed songs help add to a wrestler's character while also gaining exposure and recognition to the artists who made the music.
10 Chris Jericho
"Y2J" Chris Jericho's band Fozzy has been going since 1999 and although it has its fans and has had strong show billings, the band has criticism among the wrestling community. WWE has used Fozzy songs in the past including "Judas" for NXT TakeOver: Chicago in 2017. The album, titled Judas, was released in October 2017 by Century Media Records.
When Jericho left WWE in 2017 and debuted in New Japan Pro-Wrestling later that year, and wrestled at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in Tokyo Dome in January 2018, Jericho entered to "Judas" which has since become his theme song. AEW fans began a trend of singing along to Jericho's theme which notably began on Chris Jericho's R 'N' Rager at Sea cruise in January 2020.
9 CM Punk
CM Punk is in the unique company of having entered to multiple licensed songs. Most notably, Punk used Living Colour's "Cult of Personality," released on the May 1988 album Vivid by Epic Records. Living Colour played a live version of the song at WrestleMania 29 for Punk's entrance. Punk also came out to the theme for his two fights in the UFC after WWE.
Before using "Cult of Personality," CM Punk used the song "This Fire" by Killswitch Engage from his WWE debut in 2006 until 2011. This song would not be released until August 2007 on the special edition re-release of the November 2006 album As Daylight Dies, released by Roadrunner Records. Randy Orton used this time for one night on a SmackDown in 2006 before Punk.
8 Rob Van Dam
Rob Van Dam was one of ECW's superstars who a licensed song, popularizing Pantera's "Walk" among wrestling fans. RVD used another licensed song while in WWE beginning in early 2002. RVD worked a few matches in WWE in the late '90s but would make a proper debut in 2001 and have a proper run.
Van Dam began using the song "One of a Kind" by Breaking Point. The song was off the album Coming of Age released in September 2001 by Wind-up Entertainment. Van Dam would use the song throughout the rest of his WWE career and also appeared in the song's music video.
7 "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan's theme music throughout the years has changed with the times and attitude of The Hulkster. "Real American" by Rick Derringer was/is a great backing to Hogan's patriotism and heroic actions. While part of the nWo in WCW and WWE, Hogan used "Rockhouse" that was written and produced by "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart.
Also while in both companies, Hulk Hogan used the Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Voodoo Child (Slight Return);" also written as "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)." The song was released on the album Electric Ladyland in October 1968 by Reprise Records in North America and by Track Records overseas.
6 Jeff Hardy
Since returning to WWE in 2017, Jeff Hardy has been using his "Team Extreme" theme song. It made sense when he was wrestling alongside his brotherMatt. But since Matt has since gone to AEW, fans have felt a need for Jeff to return to his "No More Words" theme that he used from 2008 up until his 2009 release.
"No More Words" was a bonus track off Endeverafter's October 2007 album Kiss or Kill, released by Razor & Tie. Hardy has been public about wanting to revert to his Endeverafter theme. Jeff respectfully feels that his current theme is "Team Extreme" and not "Jeff Hardy."
5 Edge
"The Rated-R Superstar" Edge has one of the most unanimously loved wrestling theme songs among fans. Edge began using the song "Metalingus" by Alter Bridge in the fall of 2004, months after its release that August by Wind-up Records. Edge has been coming out to passionate vocals of Myles Kennedy since.
That was Edge's second usage of a licensed song within the decade, and that was by 2004. In the summer of 2001, Edge started using Rob Zombie's "Never Gonna Stop (The Red Red Kroovy)" off of the November 2001 album The Sinister Urge released by Geffin Records. Edge used this theme until 2004.
4 Victoria
Victoria's run as a singles star began in 2002 with a feud against Trish Stratus. That December at Armageddon, Victoria began using a new theme. She began making her entrance to "All the Things She Said" by the duo t.a.T.u. The song was first released in Russia in December 2000 before being released in North America in August 2002.
In regards to the latter, the song was released by Interscope Records on the album 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane. The song caused quite a stir in the music industry, drawing praise and criticism. Victoria stopped using the song in 2004 in favor of a WWE-produced theme.
3 Randy Savage
"The Macho Man" Randy Savage's theme song has quite the historic lineage. Known simply as "Pomp and Circumstance," the song comes from Pomp and Circumstances Military Marches which is a series of six marches. The one we know best is "March No. 1 in D Major" which premiered in October of 1901 in Liverpool, England.
The song was being used the following year for the coronation of King Edward VII under the name "Land of Hope and Glory." Savage famously used "March No. 1 in D Major" (with variations) during his time in WWE since his 1985 and later in WCW and TNA Wrestling.
2 The Undertaker
After "retiring" his "deadman" gimmick in 1999, The Undertaker returned to WWE in May 2000 in his "American Badass" persona and used the song "American Bad Ass" by Kid Rock as his theme. The song was released in May 2000 by Atlantic Records on the album The History of Rock.
By year's end, Taker switched to Limp Bizkit's "Rollin'," released by Flip Records and Interscope Records in October 2000 on the album Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water; Taker used the song until spring of 2002. At WrestleMania 36 in 2020, Undertaker began using Metallica's "Now That We're Dead," released by Blackened Recordings in November 2016 on the album Hardwired... to Self-Destruct.
1 Bray Wyatt
Bray Wyatt did not just want to use a certain song for his theme music, he wanted to ensure he would never have to find a replacement. While in development transitioning from Husky Harris to Bray Wyatt, Wyatt discovered the song "Broken Out in Love" by Mark Crozer and The Rels, released independently by the group on their 2012 album Relics.
Bray began to use the song while in FCW beginning that year. He also felt the song strongly clicked with the new character he was going to be portraying and influenced WWE into purchasing the rights to the song. The song was renamed "Live in Fear" and in 2019 was renamed "Let Me In" in a remix for "The Fiend's" in-ring debut at SummerSlam.
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